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Former names | Morris Brown Colored College; Morris Brown University |
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| Motto | To God and Truth[1] |
| Type | Privatehistorically black[2]liberal arts college |
| Established | January 5, 1881; 145 years ago (January 5, 1881) |
Religious affiliation | African Methodist Episcopal Church[3] |
| President | Kevin James[4] |
| Students | 343 (fall 2023)[5] |
| Location | , U.S.[3] 33°45′17″N84°24′32″W / 33.7548°N 84.4089°W /33.7548; -84.4089 |
| Campus | Urban, 21 acres (8.5 ha)[3] |
| Colors | Purple and black |
| Mascot | Wolverines and Lady Wolverines |
| Website | www |
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Morris Brown College (MBC) is aprivateMethodisthistorically blackliberal arts college inAtlanta,Georgia. Founded January 5, 1881, Morris Brown is the first educational institution in Georgia to be owned and operated entirely by African Americans.
TheMorris Brown Colored College (its original name) was founded on January 5, 1881, by African Americans affiliated with theAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church, the first independent black denomination in the United States. It was named to honor the denomination's second bishop,Morris Brown, originally fromCharleston, South Carolina.
After the end of the American Civil war, the AME Church sent numerous missionaries to the South to find new churches. They planted many new AME congregations in Georgia and other states, where hundreds of thousands offreedmen joined this independent black denomination.
On January 5, 1881, the North Georgia Annual Conference of the AME Church passed a resolution to establish an educational institution inAtlanta for the moral, spiritual, and intellectual growth of Negro boys and girls. The school chartered and opened October 15, 1885, with 107 students and nine teachers. Morris Brown was the first educational institution in Georgia to be owned and operated entirely by African Americans.[6] By 1898 the school had 14 faculty, 422 students, and 18 graduates.[7] For more than a century, the college enrolled many students from poor backgrounds, large numbers of whom returned to their hometowns as teachers, as education was a mission of high priority.
Fountain Hall, originally known as Stone Hall when occupied byAtlanta University, was completed in 1882. After Atlanta University consolidated its facilities, it leased the building to Morris Brown College, which renamed it as Fountain Hall. It is closely associated with the history of Morris Brown College and has been designated as aNational Historic Landmark.[8]
Morris Brown College'sHerndon Stadium was the site of thefield hockey competitions during the1996 Summer Olympics.[9] The stadium is designed to seat 15,000 spectators.[3] In 1950, the President ofGeorgia Tech and civil rights lecturerBlake R Van Leer delivered the commencement address. Van Leer would later be involved in a local battle against a racist Governor at the time.[10]
By the early 2000s, Morris Brown College had become heavily reliant on federal financial aid to sustain its enrollment of 2,500 students. Approximately $8 million in federal funds was disbursed to the college annually. To qualify for these funds, the college was obligated to accurately report student enrollment figures to theDepartment of Education. However, a fraudulent scheme was orchestrated by former presidentDolores Cross and financial aid director Parvesh Singh. They knowingly falsified enrollment data, inflating the number of students receiving financial aid. The millions of dollars fraudulently obtained were diverted from designated student accounts to cover the college's escalating operational costs, including payroll expenses. The misuse of federal funds led to the revocation of the college's accreditation by theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools in 2002. The loss of accreditation precipitated a financial crisis, ultimately forcing the college to the brink of closure.
Cross and Singh were subsequently indicted, convicted, and sentenced for their roles in the scheme. Their actions inflicted substantial damage to the college's reputation and left a lasting impact on the institution and its students.[11][12][13][14][15]
Once a thriving institution with approximately 2,500 students,[16] Morris Brown College experienced a significant decline marked by financial mismanagement, accreditation loss, and legal challenges. The college's peak enrollment occurred before a series of scandals led to the resignation of its president and subsequent accreditation issues.
Despite attempts to revive the college, including the return of former president, Samuel D. Jolley (1993–1997) and a proposed enrollment goal of 107 students, Morris Brown struggled to regain its footing.[14] The loss of accreditation proved catastrophic, cutting off vital federal and state financial aid and precipitating a steep enrollment drop. The college's financial woes deepened, culminating in a $13 million property bond default that threatened foreclosure on historic campus buildings.
To stave off closure, Morris Brown filed for bankruptcy in 2012.[17] A lifeline emerged in 2014 when the city of Atlanta purchased the campus, relieving the college of a substantial debt burden. However, the deal did not reverse the college's academic decline. Enrollment plummeted to fewer than 50 students by 2018, hindered by the lack of accreditation and limited financial aid options.
Compounding the challenges, Morris Brown suffered severe building deterioration, including a devastating fire at Gaines Hall.[18] While the city expressed interest in preserving the historic campus architecture, the overall condition of the college continued to deteriorate. Despite efforts to regain accreditation, Morris Brown faced an uphill battle for survival.
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The board of trustees selected Kevin E. James to serve as interim president of the college in 2019. James came to Morris Brown after a 20-year career in higher education, serving as a senior-level administrator, with positions at Strayer University and Herzing University as a dean of academic affairs. James led the charge, calling the initiative to make Morris Brown College the number one HBCU in this country in every metric "The Hard Reset".
Under James's leadership, Morris Brown was authorized as an institute of higher learning by theGeorgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (GNPEC) in 2019. The approval was a notable step towards regaining full accreditation.[19] James was officially named president in 2020. He was also to raise millions of dollars for the school and establish lucrative partnerships to help further its growth. In 2021, the college became beneficiaries of a $30 million investment that partners them withHilton to establish a new hotel on campus and reestablish a hospitality management degree program to train Brownites[16] and its application for accreditation candidacy through theTransnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) was approved, enabling the school to regain access to federal financial aid programs and Title IV funding.[20]
As of April 2024, Morris Brown had an enrollment of 300+ students.[17]
In 2024, James was offered and accepted a contract extension to retain his position until June 2029.[21] However, he was abruptly fired as president on January 12, 2026.[22] Nzinga Shaw briefly served as the interim president until January 21, 2026, when James was reinstated after the board determined the dismissal did not comply with his employment agreement.[23][24]
Founders
Principals
Presidents
Morris Brown offers thebachelor of arts andbachelor of science degrees. The Department of Business also offers four certificate programs.[25]
Until 2003, Morris Brown was accredited by a regional accreditor, theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Morris Brown wasunaccredited from 2003 to 2022.[26]
In March 2019, the college's leaders announced that the college was applying for accreditation through theTransnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS).[27] The college's application for candidacy was accepted by TRACS in early 2021, enabling the college to once again receive federal financial aid and other funding.[20] On April 26, 2022, Morris Brown College was granted full accreditation. This is a rare example of a college regaining accreditation after nearly 20 years without it.[28][29]
In the early 2000s, the college briefly had an independentNCAA Division I athletics program.[30] Prior to the Division I transition, the college was a founding and active member of the NCAA Division IISouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference between 1913 and 2000.[31]
The Morris Brown Wolverines football program played atHerndon Stadium on campus until the athletic program was discontinued in 2003. Despite an inactive athletics program, Morris Brown has continued its homecoming tradition every fall semester on campus.[32]
Morris Brown College was well known for its popular and sizable marching band program, "The Marching Wolverines", and danceline "Bubblin Brown Sugar." Both were strongly featured in the 2002 box office hitDrumline and invited to perform at the firstHonda Battle of the Bands event in 2003.[33] In 2006, the rappersOutKast released a song named "Morris Brown" that featured the marching band.
Due to the college's loss of accreditation, the band program was discontinued in 2002.[34] There have been conversations by Morris Brown's leadership to bring back the marching band program and athletics now that the school is accredited again.[35]
Morris Brown's campus has been used as a primary or partial filming location for various television shows and movies, includingDrumline (2002),[36]We Are Marshall (2006),[36] andStomp the Yard (2007).[36]
 | This sectionmay containexcessive orirrelevant examples. Please helpimprove it by removingless pertinent examples andelaborating on existing ones.(December 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Name | Class year | Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kimberly Alexander | member of theGeorgia House of Representatives | ||
| George Atkinson | formerNFL defensive back for the Oakland Raiders | ||
| Robert "T-Mo" Barnett | Rapper and member ofGoodie Mob andDungeon Family | ||
| Solomon Brannan | 1963 | former AFL defensive back for the Kansas Chiefs and New York Jets | [37] |
| Jean Carn | jazz and pop singer | [38] | |
| Charles W. Chappelle | Aviation pioneer, international businessman, president of the African-American Union, electrical engineer and architect/construction | attended late 1880s | |
| Donté Curry | 2000 | former NFL linebacker for Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions | |
| Carl Wayne Gilliard | member of theGeorgia House of Representatives | [39] | |
| Greg Grant | former NBA player | ||
| Hilda Grayson Finney | Educator, worked withCarter G. Woodson andMary McLeod Bethune | [40] | |
| Tommy Hart | former NFL defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers | ||
| Beverly Harvard | 1973 | first black female police chief ofAtlanta and United States Marshal | [41] |
| Donzella James | former member of theGeorgia State Senate | ||
| Alfred Jenkins | 1973 | former NFL and WFL wide receiver for the Birmingham Americans 1974 and the Atlanta Falcons 1975–1983 | |
| Ezra Johnson | former NFL defensive end for the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts | ||
| NeNe Leakes | American television personality and entrepreneur | attended 1986–1987 | |
| Carrie Thomas Jordan | 1889 | educator | |
| James Alan McPherson | 1965 | McArthur “genius grant” winner andPulitzer Prize-winning author | |
| Howard Simon Mwikuta | former kicker for the Dallas Cowboys and the first native-born African to play in the NFL | [42][43] | |
| Billy Nicks | former head football coach of Morris Brown andPrairie View A&M University | ||
| Richard Henry Singleton | African Methodist Episcopal minister, and activist; led theBig Bethel AME Church in Atlanta | [44] | |
| Sommore | comedian and member of theQueens of Comedy | ||
| James E. Winfield | 1967 | civil rights attorney, city prosecutor, and politician inVicksburg, Mississippi; former president of the National Alumni Association and the Board of Trustees of Morris Brown College | [45][46] |
| Hosea Williams | civil rights activist |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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